Sony DCR-SR60 30GB 1MP Hard Disk Drive Handycam Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom

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Product Details

• Item Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000GWE83C
• Item model number: SR60
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,533 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)

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  Camera & Photo > Camcorders > Hard Disk Drive

• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

Manufacturer Description

Manufacturer Description With a 30GB built-in hard disk drive, the DCR-SR60 lets you capture up to 20 hours of video or nearly 10,000 still pictures in 1-megapixel digital still memory mode. With on-screen zoom and record buttons, and a 2.7-inch LCD wide touch-panel swivel screen, you’ll have complete control over every detail of your video.

DCR-SR60 Highlights

Recording Time (30GB)

• HQ (9Mbps): 7 hours, 20 minutes
• SP (6Mbps): 10 hours, 50 minutes
• LP (3Mbps): 20 hours, 50 minutes

1.0-megapixel Advanced HAD CCD imager; 1070K gross 1/5.5-inch Advanced HAD (Hole Accumulation Diode) CCD with 690K (effective) video pixels provides stunning detail and clarity, for exceptional video (up to 520 lines of horizontal resolution) and still image performance. Realize great looking digital still images with 1,000k effective pixels.

12x optical/800x digital zoom The optical zoom helps to bring the action close up from far away. In addition, the digital zoom interpolation means that extreme digital zooming is clearer, with less distortion than previous types of digital zooms.

High-quality Zeiss optics ensure you'll get the most from the SR60's 1-megapixel CCD and 12x optical zoom

Professional-quality Carl Zeiss Vario- Tessar lens Carl Zeiss lenses have an advanced optical multi-layer coating for increased contrast. This results in vivid image brilliance, true-tolife color saturation and perfect renditions of subtle tones.

2.7-inch wide touch-panel SwivelScreen LCD Display (123K pixels) The 2.7-inch wide (16:9) LCD screen provides excellent viewing clarity. The high resolution 123K-pixel LCD screen rotates up to 270 degrees for multiple viewing angles providing sharp, detailed images for monitoring or playback, and the widescreen format makes shooting in 16:9 mode and composing shots even easier.

Digital still memory mode Capture still images up to 1152 x 64 resolution, directly onto the internal 60GB hard disk drive for easy transfer to PCs for emailing and printing via the computer.

One-touch wide-angle shooting Easily switch between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect ratios for shooting, with just the touch of a button.

One-touch DVD burn Easily burn a DVD copy of your footage using the supplied software. Simply connect you DCR-SR80 to your PC via the Handycam Station and supplied USB cable and press the one-touch DVD burn button.

Easily transfer video and still images to your PC through the Handycam Station

Handycam Station Simply placing the camcorder on the supplied Handycam Station cradle provides quick connections to a TV for viewing or a PC for editing and sharing, all while charging the battery so your camcorder is always ready to go.

Progressive shutter system A mechanical shutter system that provides progressive-scan performance while utilizing an interlaced scanning system. Digital still images will be sharp and clear with excellent definition.

Super SteadyShot picture stabilization system An advanced version of Sony's SteadyShot system that controls an even higher range of shake and vibration frequencies, to achieve an even higher level of smoothness without degradation of video like some other image stabilization systems.

Analog inputs Record any analog NTSC source to digital via the analog inputs. Perfect for archiving analog tape recordings. This recorded videocan then be transferred to your computer for editing or duplicating onto a DVD for easy sharing.

USB 2.0 interface USB 2.0 interface provides an easy way to connect your hard disk Handycam camcorder to the computer for fast transfer of video and still images to your computer for editing. The camcorder can also be used as an external storage device, convenient for archiving, storing and trasporting your videos and still images.

DVDirect compatibility The DVDirect system allows for easy transfer of video and still images to a stand-alone DVD burner via USB 2.0.

HDD Smart Protection keeps your hard disk drive safe from impact

Easy PC backup Easily back up your footage to your PC using the supplied software. The footage will be stored on your PC's hard drive for archiving purposes and viewing at a later time; the footage is stored by date allowing for quick access. In addition, only new footage is transferred to your PC each time you backup your footage.

HDD Smart Protection A unique shock absorber protects the hard disk drive from physical damage if the unit is dropped. When the 3G sensor detects a drop (loss of gravity) the power to the hard disk drive is turned off in order to prevent damage. During this time the DCR-SR80 remains powered on and recording video to the built-in buffer. Once the unit has recovered from the drop, the buffer is then recorded to the hard disk drive.

Active interface shoe Provides a location directly on the camcorder to which one may add optional accessories while providing power and twoway communication with those accessories.

Additional Features

• Super NightShot Plus Infrared System
• Manual focus
• On-screen zoom and record buttons
• Program AE (Auto Exposure) modes
• Picture effects
• Fader effects
• InfoLithium battery with AccuPower
• Meter system
• Battery information
• Easy Handycam button
• Tele Macro function

What's in the Box

AC power adapter/camera charger (AC-L25), InfoLithium rechargeable battery (NP-FP50), Remote Commander remote control (RMT-835), Handycam Station, A/V cable (stereo), USB cable, ImageMixer for hard disk drive Handycam camcorder, application software, drivers, and handbook

Note: Additional software required for use with Apple computers.

Product Description

The DCR-SR60 contains a 30GB Hard Disk Drive to store all of your high-quality stills and videos. With 12x Optical/800x Digital Zoom and a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens, everything will be as clear as you remember it. In addition, record smoother, sharper shots with the Super SteadyShot Picture Stabilization System, which takes blur out of the picture. With DVDirect recorder compatibility and pre-packaged software, you can easily transfer, edit, burn and share everything you've captured with your family, colleagues and friends. You'll have complete control over every detail of your video thanks to the on-screen zoom and record buttons coupled with a 2.7" LCD touch panel swivel-screen.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Performs as expected, November 18, 2006

By	D. Weyand (Beaver Falls, Pa United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Can't provide much info of a technical manner, but for home use this camcorder performed perfectly. Most of the video shot so far has been in a gymnasium of my daughter's basketball games. I've had trouble with the same type of setting with both digital cameras and camcorders because at zoom, the light levels record very low. This was not the case with this camcorder, which is the main reason I decided to purchase it in the first place. Overall the camcorder is very easy to operate, it's very point and shoot. When finished shooting it's very easy to put in it's dock and transfer video either directly to DVD or to your computers hard drive for editing and back up. My only complaint would be battery life and cost of extra batteries. The battery that comes with it performed as advertised but it's just a little too short and the purchase of a second battery is a must.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handycam review, January 9, 2007

By	Bonnie - See all my reviews

We bought this particular camcorder because is records directly to a hard drive. We had borrowed someone else camcorder that used mini DVDs and had an issue with the finalization process and lost the first 3 weeks of video of our daughter. We have been extremely happy with the DCR-SR60. The video quality is excellent and very easy to use. It is easy to download to the computer. My only negative would be the very basic program for burning a DVD that SONY provides. So we boght Roxio's Creator version 9 to make our DVDs. Overall, I would definitely recommend this camcorder.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bought it, liked it, but still returned it, December 19, 2006

By	Wes (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews

I bought this camera thinking that Sony would have improved on the success of their DCR-SR100. The SR60 is a nice camera that is just as compact than the SR100, it weighs less than the SR100 and is still very managable. I love the automatic lens cover and the menu is very easy to use. I hear a lot of people complain about the menu setup, but for me (a point-and-shoot home movie person who almost always relies on automatic mode) it was fine.

It gave GREAT looking outdoor video but I wasn't too hot on the indoor quality; the picture came out a little too blue when an area was lit by overhead lights. When the lighting became even more dim, the picture became very grainy. I'm not saying that the picture was not usable; but for the cost of the camera ($600), I expected a little more.

Like i said earlier, the picture outdoors was very good, everything appeared clear and all the colors appeared correct. I used the camera in several action shot opprotunities and the focus appeared fast enough for me and never gave a blurry image.

The format of the camera (HDD) is awesome. I simply connect the camera, via USB2, to my computer and it detects it as a hard drive. From there its just drag and drop and you're all done. It takes a matter of minutes to tranfer the information, way better than the real time transfering from miniDV tapes. With its 30gb Hard drive, almost 7.5 hours of video, that's 15 miniDVD's. The Hard drive is just more convenient than other formats.

I used the included software and it was very easy to use. One bad thing I didn't like was the software showed the file name on the screen throughout the entire DVD. I could not figure out how to remove it and when I contacted Sony, they said you can not remove it. If you use the direct DVD burn function (burns directly from the camcorder's hard drive), then it creates the video without the name. The direct DVD burn function is great for the making video from the camcorder's hard drive, but if you already tranferred video to your computer's hard drive, then your forced to use Sony's software (or preferrably another 3rd party program).

I was overall pleased with the camera except for its indoor performance and since that is the majority of my video, I returned it and opted for the SR100, which I find to perform better indoors but at a higher price. I would have liked to have upgraded to the SR1 but I couldn't afford its $1500 price tag and I wasn't sure if the HDTV would survive its upcoming war with Blu-ray or EDTV.

If asked if I would recommend this camera, I would still say yes but give my experiences with the indoor quality. If one could look past that, then I would also advise to consider the SR80 instead, it appears to be the same camcorder but with a larger (60 gb) hard drive. During this Holiday season, I've seen the SR80 go for only $100 more than the SR60, not too bad for those really long extended trips.

Hope this helps